Season: Autumn 2022
Broadcast by: NTV
Rating: 6.5/10
Recommended for: those who are interested to know about the fishery industry, fans of Nao and like feel-good stories of how people rise above challenges to become successful
Liked:
- Nao. She definitely carried the series very well as the lead with her strong acting and very engaging portrayal of Nodoka who packed a lot of power and energy despite her petite frame. Despite the tough challenges Nodoka faced and a lack of trust in her from the people around, she always overcame these issues with a smile. However, Nodoka wasn't just one-dimension though because there were moments of weakness and self-doubt which I thought Nao managed to show the transition between these different sides of Nodoka very seamlessly. And even when surrounded by a group of men in the story, she could still stand out and hold her own without giving the feeling that Nodoka wasn't a competent leader.
Of course, kudos also go to the supporting cast including Tsutsumi Shinichi, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Matsumoto Wakana and Watanabe Daichi who did a good job in making their characters endearing enough to root for and giving Nao a much-needed boost as the heroine. It was also fun to watch the after-stories of these characters a few years down the road in the finale.
- There was a fair bit of interesting information about the fishery industry in Japan in particular which helped to show why Nodoka's presence as a disruptor and upsetting the status quo could elicit such a strong and violent reaction from the incumbents such as the fishing association. The last twist about national and security interests was not expected but I thought it was a timely addition and made the story end on a more serious note rather than keep harping on "local" competition issues.
Disliked:
- The biggest problem with the story was the bullying and having it on repeat and escalating mode. If it's a couple of times, I can understand that it was meant to show the set of challenges that Nodoka had to overcome in order to achieve success. However, there were times when the bullying tactics became so trivial and petty that it was getting dry, repetitive and boring. I had the lingering thought of wanting to drop this drama as early as in Ep 3/4.
The other extreme though was seeing bullying taken to such a level that it was so malicious, had hurt innocent folks and there was scant regard for the safety and lives of the fishermen. Although this drama is based on a true story, I can't help but wonder how many of these instances did actually happen. As such, if you want to watch this, you need to be prepared for the potential disgust, frustration and annoyance felt while seeing the bullying get worse with each episode.
- The somewhat stagnant timeline was also a bugbear for me because the entire story took place 10 years ago and the timeline never budged from then. I was still hoping to see some progression but up to the last episode, the only "movement in time" was to see Susumu return to the fishing port as a high school student to visit Hiroshi. If the events had been spread out for a longer period of time, how would it have changed the pacing and story development? I certainly don't think that the heroine in real life managed to achieve so much in a year or less so the drama's story might have felt a bit more believable and convincing if it was spread out more evenly.
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